1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a microelectrode, and in particular, a microelectrode for measuring electromyographic (EMG) signals of laboratory microfauna, a method for manufacturing the microelectrode, and a system for measuring the EMG signals of the laboratory microfauna.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electromyography refers to a test for recording electrical activity produced when muscle fibers are contracted and thereby evaluating a function of a muscle. The electromyography is generally classified into an electroneuromyography and a needle electromyography.
In particular, the needle electromyography is a test for using a needle electrode to monitor an abnormal electrophysiological change coming out of a muscle when a nerve is injured or if the muscle itself is abnormal and diagnose whether the muscle is normal or abnormal.
The electromyography may facilitate the observation on a variety of diseases including a fibrillation potential, a positive sharp wave, a fascicular contraction potential, a myokymia discharge, a complex continuous discharge and so on. Such abnormal spontaneous activity may be a serious disease to disrupt one's daily life. The electromyography has employed a needle electrode.
The needle electrode has a size small enough to collect electric signals coming out from one nerve fiber. The needle electrode may allow one to identify which phenomenon happens when electricity flows within a cell or a nerve.
In general, needle electrodes for measuring EMG use a monopolar electrode and a bipolar electrode of ambipolarity.
The monopolar electrode has problems that it is not stiff enough to be used in a deep muscle, has unstable electric signals, and is uneconomical because it can be used only one time in spite of a high-cost.
The bipolar electrode has two polarities in a single needle electrode and has problems that it has a significantly narrow measuring range and gives pains and unpleasant feelings to a subject.
As mentioned above, such conventional needle electrodes have disadvantages that they give pains and unpleasant feelings to a subject as well as cannot be reused in spite of a high-cost. Therefore, what is needed is replacement of the conventional needle electrodes. Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2011-0106234 discloses an electrode for measuring physiological signals from a skin when the electrode is adhered to the skin, in which the physiological signals are measured using a plurality of needles formed on a side of contact part in a size penetrable through a stratum corneum of the skin. However, objects and configurations of the above Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2011-0106234 differ from those of the present disclosure that EMG signals are measured from microfauna whose gene information is analogue to a human being.